Would you say that its pretty much the core of your career?
And the audience let you do that.
Edinburghs a great space for growing.
I understand you financed last years stand-up DVD yourself.
I filmed it in Australia, and I paid for it myself.
Basically, I wanted to have full control of what I was putting into it.
I had the finished product, and then ITV and other companies said, Well release it for you.
And I went with ITV.
Theres quite an element of gamble there, though?
Was there pre-order interest in there before you went and did it?
No, to be honest.
And so, I thought go out on a limb, and do it.
Thankfully, it worked.
It made a laugh-a-minute gig, I suppose.
How was it when you came to this one, then?
Theres a lot to live up to!
So, Ive been working on it for at least nine months, perfecting it.
So, I knew where we were going to go with it.
I love the ending of your DVD, too.
I like the build up to it, which I dont want to spoil.
How did it all pan out live?
I detected a little crackle of nervousness in the crowd as you were recording your finale.
It could have gone badly wrong!
And thats what I liked about it!
Your TV show, for instance, sees you being a lot more collaborative, inevitably.
Has that been storing up for a while?
I think it has been.
Or brings something of themselves to it.
[Laughs] Thats another story!
And all that kind of stuff just came to life with this show.
We could actually do a compilation show of all the sketches.
Theyre not recurring characters.
Short and sharp, and bang you get a punchline.
It meant I could be a different person all the time.
Yours is pulling slightly back to the tone of the old Harry Enfield shows.
Theres that kind of spirit to it, even though the material is very different.
I think youve hit the nail on the head.
That is exactly what I was trying to do.
But its short, sharp, to the point, bang.
I was very conscious that I didnt want to be catchphrase-driven.
Theres only two characters I think that you see again.
The mum character and the guy whos the stunt man.
He comes back two or three times.
Apart from that, every other sketch is standalone.
I didnt want to walk down the street with people shouting a catchphrase at me!
Was that never even a mild temptation?
Its very similar, and I think its fine.
You dont have to be out there, or deep and whatever.
you could just be funny.
Thats what I went for.
Do you know, it was the most surreal thing Ive ever done!
And I also wasnt banking on the fact that the audience absolutely loved him.
That really threw me.
But I had to change tack, because the audience were just lapping him up.
And he, all credit to him, just played along and was hilarious.
You had two or three carefully guided missiles that night…
It was really strange.
And now hes mayor!
The worlds gone mad!
Stephen K Amos, thank you very much.
Stephen K Amos: The Feel Good Factor is out now on DVD.
